"Speech" human speech
"Speech" Pokemon speech
"Speech" Pokemon speech to humans.
"SPEECH" underused Pokedex speech.
'Speech' telepathic speech
~0~
Lucy AKA Kirlia, lvl 21- significant moves: teleport, confusion, growl and reflect.
Nidoran lvl 16: significant moves: peck, poison sting, double kick
"The project is a success. Thirteen Spartans- that is, Secret-Spartans, are fully functional and working at full capacity. After five years of service, there has been not a single casualty. And some of their missions had odds that stood as pronounced as 1 to 10!"
"But?"
Seeing as we started the project at an average age of four years old…our indoctrination procedures were very thorough. They are soldiers all right- but that is it. Operatives that can only function as long as they are send on missions and battles- we have been able to glean off some details about their individual personality's ma'am. I will send you the reports this evening."
"See to it that you will, Colonel."
Conversation between Colonel Ackerson and Admiral Parangosky.
The journey through Mt moon had been a very stressful one. First, Lucy had had lost consciousness and his trainer had to carry her. Then, the ground underneath said trainer had burst open and another stone-snake had appeared to crush them underneath its bulk, for whatever reason.
In order to protect the Psychic-type he had to be stronger; he had to become something more, his current strength had been insufficient and he couldn't defend those he cared about as a Nidoran.
So he evolved. It was just as she had told him: once he had found the inspiration to evolve, he could. And he did. As a Nidorino he was fully capable of taking on the Onix- for his natural instincts told him that was the name of his opponent- head-on and emerge victorious.
He thought that his new body and mind would enable him to better understand the world around him; that he could finally grasp what his trainer actually was and how Lucy's mind worked.
But with the newfound intelligence came such a dramatic change of body and hormones that the world hadn't broadened in view.
It had changed. Smells weren't the same as they were, colours appeared differently and his feelings weren't the same. Whenever he looked at the white form of his trainer, he felt a strange warmth spread through his body and his heart would move faster than normal. His brain would tell him to call down and to resist the urges of his flesh, but his heart told him to attack. To lash out and strike the human down without mercy. He was a male and his trainer was one too. There was a territorial drift in his body that he simply couldn't ignore- the only female in their pack was Lucy. She wasn't the same species, but since when had that mattered?
He didn't know why he thought of the human as his rival, or how the Kirlia had become the point of interest for his heart. Because whenever he saw her, his body would feel the same as when he saw his trainer. Only the things his heart told him were very different. He didn't even understand half of them and the things he did understand, he wanted to suppress and forget.
How was he supposed to know what he felt when his body was brand-new? He was a stranger in someone else's body, unable to control or even understand the things he felt.
There were two things that enabled him to think and act and they dominated his mind. The first one was his brain- the ability to think and rationalize the signals that his surroundings send him.
The second one was a collective of ancient instincts and his own heart; feelings and hormones that dictated his reactions and caused his natural responses to his environment. The two were constantly in a fight with each other and he couldn't find the proper balance he needed. Couple that with his trainer- his rival in the pack- and Kirlia and he had a very dangerous cocktail of thoughts and needs.
He needed help and he knew it. But by the time the three of them had exited the dark underground area, Lucy had already woken up and both the human and the psychic were constantly conversing with each other. He knew that because the dull male would occasionally make a remark or formulate a short answer to a presented question. Lucy had been very cross with him and the two of them were very focused on their own problems…leaving him completely out of the picture.
They ignored him like he was some worthless child; not worthy to talk to. What had he done to deserve that? Was this his reward for all the loyalty he had shown them- the orders he had followed and the pain he had endured all in the name of training? Lucy didn't even realize how he felt and what he wanted and the human-
- The human was completely cut off from his world. He didn't understand a thing about the workings of nature and the things that living beings had to endure. He stomped around in his white shell, without a care in the world and not a thing to worry about. What did he know about leadership? Why was he the alpha male in the pack?
Why did she like the human and not him?
Things were so confusing…so completely out of order that he needed some release soon. Another wild Pokemon had better attack them, or else he would unleash all of his frustration and anger at the nearest target.
The trainer himself.
~0~
The road to Cerulean city was a calm and easy one. A small river flowed down the hill and there were only a few trees in the vicinity. He could see the various people walking around the buildings- life seemed untouched by the blight of criminal activities it seemed. Was there a chance that this team Rocket hadn't touched this city yet? That their arm of corruption had yet to spoil this place?
The Spartan had to admit that the place looked quite beautiful. There was an abundance of water and children- the bridge shone like gold in the setting sun and the air had a red glow to it. It was a picture that could be used to describe peace.
But it was all a lie and he knew it. This level of calmness and tranquility could never last for more than a few days before another incident would tear their world down. A crime gone wrong…a dead body on the streets and the whole city would never be the same. This world was so proud of their Pokemon that they seemed to completely forget the basic needs and desires of human beings.
The desire for power and control. As long as there were normal men and women in this country- people with power and the capacity to use it- then there would be corruption. Corruption would lead to an inevitable war and death would crawl all over this peaceful community.
And soldiers like him would be needed to put it right again. In his life he had only known four years of peace before a war claimed his parents, his friends, his home and his entire planet.
The covenant felt that humans didn't deserve to live in this galaxy. So they had come for him. Only they had made a mistake- a mistake that would cost them the war. They had left orphans- kids that survived the horror of a burning world. Kids who wanted revenge for their fallen planet. The UNSC had made sure that he received everything he needed to fight back against the alien monsters and more. They had given him the chance for the greater good of life- to protect mankind in every way possible.
To make sure that innocent children and people could sleep safely in their beds without the fear to be burned alive by religious monsters.
'Hey you! Stop glooming and focus!'
Lucy's voice washed through his head like a bucket of ice-water and he realized that he had been thinking about war so much that he had nearly lost his concentration on the objective.
And had almost walked right into the not-so-calm river. The torrent of water had increased exponentially since he had last glanced over it and now it was at least five meters wide, with many thousands of liters of water crashing down the hill in a second.
So when confronted with an image of peace, he would instantly shut it out and think of war so much that his concentration wavered? That was a serious problem. He needed to address that when the possibility arose.
The sun was already setting and his second night on this world would soon start. He had been moving nonstop for almost two days now and Lucy had been with him the whole time. She had to be thirsty, hungry and tired. She had lost consciousness multiple times he had found her and he was forced to admit that he might have been pushing her a little too much.
She wasn't a Spartan- or even a soldier for that matter.
So when he reached the next city he would ask for a place to properly spend the night. He would use the money that he had won from the trainers on his way there to buy Nidorino and Lucy some food…and then he would ask for some more directions.
The three of them continued on like that for another ten minutes before they finally reached the entry point to the city. But when they arrived there, it occurred to the Spartan that the situation wouldn't be as easy as he might have suspected.
There were two official looking women at the gate busy with questioning a group of travelers. He could overhear their conversation without trouble and quickly raised his hand palm-forwards next to his head- the signal for stop.
One of them wore green-black attire that identified her as military. So the army was here? Good. They would understand the situation…right?
Or they could be mercenaries…militia…undercover or corrupt. He wouldn't risk it.
Lucy jumped of his shoulder and landed next to Nidorino, who also stopped.
"Potential hostiles ahead." He explained and concentrated on what was being said. The two females were asking the group whether they were…affiliated with the shady organization known as…team Rocket.
The travelers stated that they were not and the officers asked for proof of their innocence. Great- he would need credentials to enter the city and he didn't have those. What he did have were two guns with ammo to spare, a bloodied combat knife and white MJOLNIR powered assault armour. Not exactly the perfect way to prove that you weren't involved in criminal business.
'They want to know whether we are innocent or not.' Lucy explained.
"How did you know?" He asked her, unsure if he had heard her right or not.
'Simple. They aren't very concentrated on their activities and they have some pretty big discipline problems, as you would call it. Their defense has lots of holes in it and I was able to glean off their general intention through one of them.'
Her explanation left him puzzled- but he trusted her judgment. She was a psychic alright; she had proven that countless times.
"Should we risk them or sneak into the village?" He asked her. He didn't know since when he had sunk so low as to ask an animal for tactical advice, but she seemed to be the expert here. He was a complete outsider to this world and its inhabitants and she wasn't.
'Like you can sneak into this city without anyone seeing you. The moment they see a white armoured giant walk into a building, the entire place will be one big police-station.'
She was right. As long as he needed supplies, he couldn't sneak his way in. Stealing would be too risky and he still needed to ask someone for directions.
So into the arms of the policewomen it was.
He rose from his crouched stance and calmly walked up to the front gates. The travel-group had just finished with identifying themselves and was cleared for access. When he was only a few meters away- and completely out in the open- the officer saw him.
"Halt!" She yelled and pulled out a Poké ball. "Stop right there and state your business."
How very disciplined these women were; to be able to spot a snow-white seven feet tall soldier with two pokemon advancing on their position from four meters distance, without any cover at all. They must be the top-agents in this village.
Yes. He was being sarcastic.
He had to give the soldier credit though; she had her eyes on him for a long time, ever since he broke the outer perimeter.
"A soldier right?" The female said. She had short black hair and a subtle but long scar running over her cheek. People often guessed at other people being soldiers, but they usually based their presumptions on looks. He was wearing armour that was completely unknown to this world. So he had a hunch that this woman recognized him as a soldier based on a trait that every soldier themselves shared:
The ability to recognize other soldiers.
So this lady had to be either an observant civilian, or a stressed-out soldier.
"State your name rank and intention!" She said and put her hand on her side-arm. Yes. Obviously military.
He straightened his back and involuntary lifted his head. There was a shining medal that adorned her chest. There was no mistake about it; those were military credentials alright.
It identified her as a Lieutenant commander. Had she been UNSC she would have been his superior; hence the natural reaction of his body at the sight of it. Years of military indoctrination weren't simply blocked out by circumstances and even though the badge wasn't exactly a look-alike with the UNSC counterpart, the very sight of it made him want to salute.
Of course he suppressed it. She wasn't his superior and as much as he was yearning for orders and clarification, she couldn't provide them.
"Petty officer Two-sierra zero-one-one." He said loud and clear, so the policewoman would recognize him as a soldier as well.
"What?" She immediately said and threw her Poké ball to the ground. "Growlithe, come on out!" She yelled and unleashed a white-red canine.
Wasn't that she same Pokemon he had seen in Viridian forest? Probably a police dog or something.
It growled and barked at him and in an instant, Nidorino stood in front of the Spartan. The purple and the red animals were growing and snarling at each other, just as the super soldier and the two women were staring at each other.
"Stand down Christie…" The black-haired whispered at her partner. Of course he heard it too.
"I come from Pewter city. I cleared out a team Rocket blockade and made my way here…" he carefully said. If these people were corrupt, he would see it. And he would take action. "Then I disrupted an excavation operation of the same organization in Mount moon. Don't you control the situation soldier?"
Now he had struck first. His negative opinion of this village had been made clear and these two needed to know that they were of no consequence to him.
"Why you…show some respect!" The policewoman yelled and the canine barked twice in agreement, but the soldier put her hand on her friend's shoulder and whispered that she needed to relax. Again.
"Proof it!" The soldier replied. "We have had no contact with Pewter for a long time now. If what you say is true, then you should be able to proof it right?"
Without saying a word, the Spartan reached for his the badge that he had received from Brock and showed it to the soldier.
`Wha-" The policewoman responded and lowered her hands. "He speaks the truth, he is clean."
Clean? Had she seen his armour?
"I can see that Chris…okay sir. You may proceed-"
Finally.
"-but you will have to strip your weapons and surrender them to us. Otherwise we can provide you no security or access to our town.
Sigh. Of course.
"That is not going to happen…" He slowly said and prepared himself for a quick close-combat fight. He would have to disarm both of them without killing them and then see if he couldn't enter the city without being spotted as the person who knocked the two guardians out.
"Then you can't enter the town. I am sorry soldier, but we can't trust you and we need to keep this place safe!" The black-haired woman responded.
"I need to get to Saffron city. There is a communication array and I need to contact my people!" He replied, still trying to keep civil.
"I can't let you…" She fell silent as Lucy stepped into view from behind the Spartan. The two of them stared at each other for half a minute while the Spartan and the policewoman were staring at them.
Eventually, the soldier swallowed and lowered her gaze. "I see…" She said and stepped aside. "I trust you. You may enter."
He wasted no time asking questions and quickly waked past the gate.
"What was that about?" He asked Lucy when they were almost at the Pokemon Center.
'I told her that you could be trusted. And she trusted my judgment.´
"She trusted you? Why?"
'Because individuals of my species are very careful at picking the humans with whom they bond. She saw me with you and guessed that you could be trusted.'
What a load of crap. If he had been ordered to, he would have eliminated those two without a second thought and proceeded to burn the village down. How could Lucy be so sure that he was a good person? He wasn't even sure of that himself- there was no distinct line between good and bad. He simply was- and he simply did as he was told.
'So what will we do next?' Lucy then asked him.
Well…he wanted to buy some food for her and Nidorino and then spend the night at the Pokemon Center if at all possible. So they would take some R&R and prepare for the coming days-
-which would probably mean a picnic in her eyes. Eating at a place where one would sleep.
"Picnic." He simply said and continued on to the nearest Poké mart. He still had no idea what Pokemon were meant to eat. Did they consume specialized food? Where they supposed to eat raw meat or vegetables? Berries?
Nidorino's ears turned and focused on him as soon as he spoke the word. He growled something and then picked up the pace.
'You got him excited! ´ Lucy explained and hurried to run past him. Both of his Pokemon were moving at top speed to the Poke Mart and seemed to be very excited about the prospect of food. Was he a bad trainer or something? Were food, water and safe shelter really such extreme luxuries that they completely forgot about everything else?
Well…he hadn't really paid attention to the needs of his companions. Perhaps he should have realized that normal creatures required sustenance to keep going.
Nidorino came in too fast. The distance between him and the doors of the market was getting smaller and smaller until the bulky poison-type smashed into them. He hadn't been able to stop in time and his full frame came to a sudden stop against the glass door- which shook and trembled with the force of the impact.
Lucy came in second- both she and the male had been racing each other to the blue building, but unlike her friend she had been able to skid to a halt before she crashed into the door.
The sight of Nidorino crashing into the building with so much clamour and violence and petite Lucy desperately trying to lower her speed to avoid the same fate was…weird. A faint sense of…agreement? Satisfaction? Rose in him and he didn't understand what it meant. Why was it a good thing that these two were acting like clowns?
And then he heard a curious sound. It sounded- with a lack of better judgment- nice. It was a positive sound- sounding not unlike music. He had once heard a fellow Spartan describe something as mysterious but beautiful and he had to agree that the description was spot on.
This musical sound was mysterious. It took him a while to realize that the mysterious sound was in fact Lucy laughing. She was so amused by Nidorino that she had broken into laughter and that was what was mesmerizing him like that.
He briefly wondered about the mystical effects that the psychic's laughing had at him before he pushed those thoughts away. Not important.
He walked up to the building and carefully grabbed the handle. When he had just received his augmentations- a good seven or eight years ago- he had accidentally broken a lot of equipment and weaponry because of his newfound strength. He had been one of the lucky ones though; Spartans zero-zero-seven and zero-one-zero had both accidentally killed their instructors in their first new martial arts sessions with them.
It had been an unfortunate development.
So when he tried to open the door, he was being gentle to prevent it from breaking.
That was weird. It wouldn't open, but he could see light shining through the door. The shop was not closed, but why wouldn't the door open?
"What is going on there?" Someone yelled, much to his annoyance. His Pokemon had ruined any element of surprise that he might have and now he would have to deal with curious people. But didn't he recognize that voice? He did; he had heard her before.
It was the female soldier.
"What are you doing!" She said and quickly walked up to him. "Are you breaking into this shop? I thought you were clean!"
"I'm not breaking in. He is." He gestured at the poison-type, who was still hanging around near the place where he had slammed into the door. Why hadn't he moved? And what was Lucy doing?
The little psychic was pulling at the Nidorino's ears, trying to get the guy to move backwards. Why was that? What was she- oh. Well…
Nidorino was stuck in the glass- his horn had pierced the door and he couldn't get out. It was an amusing sight, but he was wasting time and his Pokemon were making a fuss.
"What is he doing?" The female slowly asked him. Was it just him, or could he actually see her patience declining rapidly?
"He appears to be stuck…" He replied.
"Get him out." He turned towards her- his full seven feet of heavily armored, threatening and all so deadly body facing her. "I don't take orders."
"What kind of soldier are you?" She bit at him. "You show up here without your unit, wearing some new experimental armour and armed to the teeth, telling how you need to get into Cerulean city without explaining why and then you proceed to ignore a direct order from your superior officer?"
There it was. The presumption that he was a member of their little localized law-enforcement unit. He needed to clarify this to prevent any possible clash with the local military.
"You are not my superior officer." He stated. "I am not from this area- and I do not answer to anyone."
"Where are you from?"
'Watch out…before you know it, there will be two of you!' Lucy said.
What did she mean with that? "You wouldn't understand." He decided to tell the soldier.
"Try me." She crossed her arms and slightly lowered her head, making sure to keep eye-contact with him. He recognized that stance. It was the same as Lucy's when she set her mind to be unusually stubborn. Before he knew it, there would be two of them.
Yes, two annoying females that wanted to tell him what to do. Why couldn't anything ever be simple? He had no idea how to act around people- let alone females with an air of command. He wouldn't try to explain this impossible situation again- to do so was to accept it. He wouldn't.
"No." He simply said and looked at Lucy. "Get him out." He told her.
'You are not my superior officer!'
What was that supposed to mean?
"Yes I am."
Was this woman giving her ideas on how to be even more defiant?
'Fine.'
"Give me a reason why I shouldn't get Christie to arrest you right away!" The soldier hissed at him. He could give her three reasons why she shouldn't do that- all of them coming at her at one burst. But if he started shooting innocent soldiers because they got in his way, he wouldn't be worth the name Spartan. He wouldn't hurt the woman in any way, but he would do whatever it would take to get her out of his way.
He turned to face the soldier once more while Lucy was busy freeing Nidorino. "I come from a place very far away- under direct command of an organization you don't know. Nobody knows. I need to get to Saffron city in order to contact them- call for evac. In the meantime I will bring any Rocket organization to a halt."
It was a large mouthful and his throat was already aching in protest. Why? Why was it so necessary to talk to people?
"That is an impressive story. If there were any other soldiers around…or if team Rocket was an inch less threatening I wouldn't accept it. But for now, you are free to go."
Free to go. Like she had to say anything about that. "Good to know." Lucy had finished with freeing Nidorino and she was still giggling about the hilarity of the situation. 'So? Shopping time?' She asked him, but he didn't respond. He watched the lady-soldier turn around and walk away, taking her silly suggestions and complications with her.
Things were going so completely out of place that he didn't know what to do know. Where was he even? In some impossible backwater planet that the UNSC couldn't have possibly ever colonized? Surrounded by impossible creatures that defied the most basic laws of nature, being able to spew water and read minds?
Stuck between systems in some town nobody has ever heard of, desperately trying to get back to the only thing in his life that made sense: war.
But he would never be able to return…would he? There couldn't even be the slightest chance for him to ever get reunited with the UNSC. He was stuck on this planet with thick dumb people, an aggressive purple dog and…and…
And Lucy. The psychic humanoid that had insulted him, berated and belittled him like a…a mother would a child.
And he had taken it. He had accepted her judgment because she had peered right into his mind, said just the things that needed to be said. She knew that he was trying to get away from this planet- to abandon her- and she still stuck with him. She still helped him. If she was able to keep trusting him…then why couldn't he trust her?
And as sudden as his little fit had come, he felt disgusted by it. He had never given up hope like that- not ever. Even if things seemed impossible he still persevered because that was what needed to be done. If he gave up- for whatever reason on whatever mission- innocent people would day.
He couldn't allow little fits of self-pity and misery! He had a job to do- a duty to fulfill. Why had he even felt that doubt? Doubt was an emotion and he did not have those. Or at least he didn't feel them. Was there some outside influence that was somehow putting thoughts in his head?
'Are you alright? You have been staring at that lady ever since she left. You are simply staring blankly into the air!'
What? Oh yes, picnic. "I'm fine. Let's get some supplies." He absentmindedly shook his head and proceeded to open the door and walk inside the store. The shopkeeper was busy talking to some woman he didn't know and the rest of the store was filled with elderly people. There were at least four senior citizens- all female- and two older men. All of them had to have at least hit their retirement age.
Thankfully not a single one of them noticed him entering the shop; which was weird, considering how he had made his initial entry. Well, actually Nidorino did, but as his trainer- caretaker! - He was responsible for the Pokémon's actions.
He couldn't just keep calling the guy by his species name. He needed a nickname- but unlike with Kirlia, he just couldn't come up with one. Guess he lacked inspiration still…
He took a long look around the store and took a step forwards. As soon as he had cleared the way, both of his Pokemon stormed the store like they were suicide grunts about to blow up a scorpion tank. At least the bulky male had the sense of decency to act nonchalant when entering the store- but the moment he was well on his way towards the food department, he too lost all of his manners.
The Spartan sighed as he watched both of his Pokemon rampage through the store, searching for their favorite snacks. It was curious that the creatures knew what they liked, even though he could have sworn that they had never seen the objects before.
Lucy was the worst of the duo. For some reason she had taken a particular interest in the sweets-department of the store and she was constantly teleporting and jumping between a few cabinets of stored items.
'What is this? What is that! This looks tasty! Can I have this? Ooh that is shiny!'
She was literary spamming his mind with all kinds of remarks and the worst thing was that she had to dive between the various elderly women to get to her points of interest. The seniors had to actually stand back and take cover or risk being knocked over by the overenthusiastic Pokemon.
He didn't want to apologize for their behavior, but he did feel responsible for how they acted. It was kind of his fault that they were this hyped up for food- had he seen fit to feed them more, they wouldn't be worshipping any edible products like fanatical Brutes right now.
He saw two of the grandmas slowly walk up to the psychic type and he realized that they were going to interact with her. He was just about to step forward and somehow divert their attention, when Lucy contacted him with another fifty spam-messages.
'That looks disgusting! Shoot it! No wait, I will destroy it myself. Is that chocolate? Is it? I love chocolate! Please let me have it! Please!'
It would be funny to hear her beg for the unimportant pieces of luxury that chocolate was and he would have commented on her choice of words, had he not suddenly felt a white-hot needle being driven into his head. The pain was unlike the burning sensation he had felt when Lucy was mad at him- this was something else. It was comparable to a bullet-wound; so consuming was the pain. What was causing it? He could see that nothing had changed inside of the small building, so it couldn't be an outside factor. So what was it?
He tried to block it out once and failed. Why couldn't he simply ignore this pain? What was it? He concentrated on his breathing and managed to resist the urge to grab his head. He stayed motionless and rigid while he battled the searing pain inside of his head. Slowly but steadily, he forced the pain away until he was able to move and speak without being influenced by the sensation.
Nobody had realized what had happened and everything was still the same.
He shook his head once and walked towards the women. "Ten-hut!" He barked and his two Pokemon immediately dropped what they were doing- literary in the Kirlia's case- and turned to face him.
So did everyone else in the store.
He had to think quickly, or else the unwanted attention could turn into negative attention and he didn't want that to happen.
"Secure precious cargo and proceed to rendezvous on my position." He continued and then gave a subtle sideways nod with his head- an indication to his Pokemon that they were allowed to continue on their way.
The two of them looked at each other for a brief moment before continuing their desperate search for enlightenment in the form of food. Nidorino was a bit more rigid and focused now- that kid was a better soldier than Lucy was.
But every single detail in her behaviour identified her as a civilian, unused to command, whereas the poisonous Pokemon seemed to be able to carry out his orders without doubt or problems. That could prove important to remember later on.
For now, the Spartan had to simply accept their behaviour as what it was and try to ignore them the best he could until they had found what they were looking for. That also meant ignoring the various whispers and conversations that had started about him and his Pokemon in the store. The two elderly males were concentrating on his military way of acting and where he was most likely to have come from, whereas the four senior women were busy focusing on the Kirlia.
"How cute!"
"I have never seen one of those."
"I heard of them sometime ago…"
"Would you look at that cute little face!"
What was with aged people and their fetish for cute things? Was Lucy honestly that cute in their eyes? He would have thought that Nidorino might beat her at cuteness. But who was he to judge? He thought a combat knife to be prettier than most females, so what did he know?
He slowly walked up to the counter and turned towards the interior of the shop, trying to keep his eye in everyone inside.
"Tough crew aye?" The man behind the counter smiled. He was an old man too- he missed two teeth when he smiled and he wore an eye-patch over his right eye.
"You have no idea…" The Spartan sighed in agreement. Nidorino had managed to knock over two boxes of berries and he had already started to down their contents. Lucy on the other hand was still getting her satisfaction from being in the spotlights with the elderly women. She was smiling and dancing in front of them while they kept making her compliments and clapping for her.
Humans were strange beings. They were able to do the most terrible things without any form of doubt, but certain individuals were the exact opposite of how evil was portrayed. Just like these ladies: they were kind, happy and honestly impressed with a strange pokemon they didn't even know. That while said Pokemon found it necessary to present some humans she had never met with a gracious dancing show.
Why wasn't the world simpler…or less stupid?
"Exfil in thirty seconds." He stated and put some money on the counter. "For the berries."
The second he even slightly turned his back on the ravaging Pokemon, he heard the sound of breaking glass. He immediately spun around- assault rifle at the ready- to see what had happened this time.
Nidorino had smashed through a vitrine case to get to some vegetables. Normally he would have instantly recalled the Pokemon to his ball, but if he did that then the animal would stay hungry and the glass would have been broken for no reason.
"Enough!" He said loudly and once again, all eyes were on him. Damnit. "Fall in line, now!"
The two creatures came running- or teleporting in Lucy's case- when he called them and finally the situation was a bit under control.
He placed a few more of the weird currency on the counter. "For the broken glass."
The man laughed- a sharp, birdlike sound. It was rather…disturbing.
Lucy jumped up the counter with multiple bars of chocolate and other sweets in her arms. Was she seriously going to eat all those? Why didn't she choose the healthy food, like her partner?
Who had managed to break half the store down in his search for healthy food. So his Pokemon chose to be either extreme…or extreme. Kind of how he liked to handle situations.
He put some coins down and quickly calculated what he had paid and how much the items would cost. "For the food."
The man merely smiled at him and grabbed the money. He quickly counted it and then gave him the change.
"Are you going to eat that all?" The Spartan asked her later, when they moved out of the store.
'You said that it was going to be a picnic. Why didn't you get anything?'
Why hadn't he chosen any food? He knew he didn't need any sustenance until at least a week –he would start to feel weak and only then he would get something to eat. He wouldn't risk taking his helmet off in hostile areas where someone could potentially poison him when it wasn't absolutely necessary.
'I have never once seen you eat or drink!' Lucy continued. 'You have been moving constantly since you found me; don't you need to feed? Rest? Relax and have some fun?'
When would she start to get the message? "I don't need fun."
The Pokemon Center was only a few minutes away from the shop and the simple journey was spend in awkward silence. He knew that he had to teach the Nidorino -for whom he still needed a name- to not simply break into a store to get whatever he wanted. His money supplies had been reduced to two-third of what it used to be and he wasn't looking forward to spending more than needed. Who knows when he might need it for something useful?
He had told Lucy to carry her food herself. It was a good lesson that he wanted her to learn: never take more than you need. But the smartass had only smiled at him when he had told her and when she thought that he wasn't looking, she had proceeded to levitate the items with her psychic powers and move them that way.
He didn't care. When he could contact the UNSC at Saffron city he would soon be released from this unknowing little world. It would be a shame to leave Lucy behind though, he had thought about the possibility to take her with him but he had already discarded the idea once and he did so again.
There wasn't anything that the UNSC could offer her safe for laboratories and experiments. A psychic humanoid? Either they would assume he had found a new alien species or some rare indigenous animal. Either way they would probably dissect her or something twisted like that. ONI were the ones that supplied his equipment and missions –including transportation- but that didn't mean he always had to agree with them. Usually he simply didn't care for their methods or means if they could get the job done – or allow him to get the job done- but for the first time, he thought that an extreme action of the Office of Naval Intelligence would be unnecessary.
So to prevent that from happening he would have to leave Lucy behind when the time came. In the meantime he would simply be glad that the pain inside of his head had finally subsided. What could have caused it?
'There is our room!' Lucy enthusiastically yelled and took the lead in their trip to the Center. She arrived first- followed by Nidorino and him. The doors slid open without difficulty and the trio was able to enter.
"Good evening! How may I help…" The nurse who sat at the counter smiled at their entry, but her smile quickly faded away and game way for a shocked expression. He had no time or patience for gaping civilians and quickly crossed the distance between the counter and him.
"A room for the night." He flatly stated and waited for her response. But much to his annoyance, the Kirlia teleported onto the counter and stepped between the Spartan and the nurse.
'He means that it has gotten too dark to travel and that we are stuck in this pretty little town. Could you please point us to a room where we can spend the night?' She told both of them with her mind.
The nerve of that little Pokemon! Who was she to interfere with his operations? Had she completely detached herself from his command? He would have to have a serious talk with her when they were alone.
"A room? Well…there is one upstairs. Shall I accompany you there or…?
"No." The Spartan responded and with a sharp nod of his head, sent Nidorino upstairs to scout ahead. At least the male Pokemon still obeyed his orders.
'Thank you miss! Have a good night!' Lucy courtly said and teleported away. Not next to his feet, not somewhere else around him, just away.
What was wrong with them? Why had his pokemon suddenly forgotten every single lesson that he had taught them?
He sighed and followed the direction in which Nidorino had run off to. He was bound to find the creature somewhere upstairs in front of an empty room or something. The good thing about the poison-type was that his good sides were still greater than his bad sides- something which couldn't be said for Miss Lucy. The Pokémon's attitude had been decreasing steadily for a while now. This might all be an adventure to her, but to him this was a waste of time.
It took him a minute or so to find the poison-type, but when he did he wasn't surprised to find Lucy sitting next to him.
'What took you so long!' She remarked. He didn't answer her and pulled the assault rifle from his back. He would soon need some more ammunition so he would have to be careful with his shots. He kept the weapon at the ready and slowly opened the door. He entered the room barrel first- taking great care to sweep the corners and every possible hiding spot.
"Clear." He said and felt Nidorino run past him to investigate the new place where they would spend the night. The sun had nearly set and he had a perfect view on the setting star from the one window in the room. There were two beds standing next to each other to the left and a large cabinet standing to the right. A single chest stood in the corner and a small lamp hung from the ceiling, not looking particularly bright when turned on.
'A bed? What intense luxuries are brought upon us?' Lucy joked and teleported on top of the bed. 'Dibs.' Didn´t she ever get tired of using her powers all day long? And since when did Pokemon have a concept of using human phrases like that?
The Spartan looked around again and noticed a small alarm clock standing next to the bed. It read 18:10.
So it was actually evening now. This was the first time he had ever seen a time-keeping device on this world and it was ridiculous how much it looked like the normal human ones. The humans that DID made sense at least. Well, it wouldn't do him any good to keep pondering about these things. It was time to organize and prepare for the next day.
"Grab some R and R, we rest in three and woke at six."
The two Pokemon stopped what they were doing and turned to face him, blank expressions on their faces. It occurred to him that he had not yet used this military slang with them before and that it would most likely not make any sense.
"Bedtime in three hours. We rise at six 'o clock."
He could have sworn that the pair did the Pokemon equivalent of 'oooohhhh!' that humans did when they suddenly understood something.
'Why so soon?' the Kirlia asked him. Nidorino barked at him and the psychic turned to face him. 'He wonders the same thing.'
"Dawn is when the enemy lets their guard down. We can strike early and prevent being struck at ourselves." He had a hunch that his companion's would keep asking him questions, so he decided to think of something to keep that from happening.
"Have fun." He turned and grabbed hold of the cabinet. It was large wooden piece of furniture that had a flat backside- which would work well enough for his plans. He happened to glance behind him and noticed that the two creatures were watching him with fascination.
"Now."
That shook them out of their trance. Lucy immediately stood and jumped on top of the bed – taking a few candy bars with her- and started fumbling with the sheets. Nidorino growled once and then began his epic journey to climb onto the other bed –a very daunting quest, seeing as he was quadruped animal and he couldn't climb worth a damn. That would keep him busy for the rest of the evening.
Now that both of the Pokemon were busy with their individual plans, he had a chance to get busy himself. He tore the cabinet down, placing it with its front on the ground and making sure that the backside was completely horizontal. After that he laid down his weapons and started his routinely maintaining cycle. If only he had better things to do…
~0~
Chocolate was good. Chocolate was very good. This was the first time in her life that she could have chocolate and other kinds of candy for dinner- even though it wasn't warm. Her parents had never permitted her to eat sweets in the evening –safe for the incidental dessert after dinner. Some part of her felt satisfied with the current events; she had a good friend, an honest trainer and…well, up to a few weeks together with the human.
The rest of her felt pretty depressed. It was one of the reasons why she had chosen chocolate; it prevented her from feeling too depressed. Her parents were gone and she had no idea where they were or even where to find them. Her best friend was a Nidorino and her human was an emotionless murderous soldier with more issues then she had dance moves.
That wasn't completely honest –she had a lot of moves.
The fact that she wasn't eating healthy or warm at the moment felt wrong…it felt like a testimony to the anarchy of the situation. No rules…no laws and no consequences. Humans had died around her and it should have been enough to cause a trauma. It should have been enough…but for some reason it hadn't. She understood-
"Help!"
-understood that-
"Help me!"
-that the humans had been bad. Who was that? Was someone asking for help?
"Please!"
Begging for help? Someone was in trouble. It was time to investigate!
Lucy glanced at her trainer from the corner of her eyes. He was busy with his thunder-stick and wasn't paying any attention to her. It was now or never. She closed her eyes and felt her body became enveloped in the faint green mist that signified the usage of her psychic powers. She concentrated on the image she saw when she looked out of the window and ever so slightly increased the pressure on her mind. Within a second she felt her body disassemble and then reassemble itself. Only this time she was outside, ready to venture into the wild.
"Okay…" She whispered and looked around the town. "Where are you?"
The town seemed quiet enough…nothing was going on. Had she merely imagined the faint cries for help? The window had been closed and she had been on the second floor. Nidorino hadn't seemed to notice it, so why had she?
"Is anyone there? Help me!"
There it was again! Who was calling for help there? It sounded like a girl but…could it be a trap? Her trainer had taught her to trust her own instincts and nothing else. Her instincts told her that something was going on…but what?
"Hello!" She yelled. "Where are you?"
There wasn't a direct response to her call, but she could feel something. A faint trembling in the ground. Loud barks sounded in the distance and actually startled her. Those were certainly real!
She could hear human speech in the background and even though she couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, she could hear that they weren't exactly happy. Combine that with the large emotional charge in the air and you had a real problem.
A plum of fire was visible at the end of the road and it attracted her eye. Humans couldn't breathe fire, could they? So that had to be a Pokemon.
"Help me!" The voice yelled again, much clearer this time. It was definitely a female and she was in trouble.
Then a red figure darted out from behind a wall, the same place where the torrent of fire came from. It was a Vulpix, a younger one judging by the four tails that fluttered behind her. "Please help me!" She cried.
"What is happening! Who are after you!" Lucy cried in return, but the answer presented itself soon enough. From the same place where the Vulpix had come from, multiple of the red-white canines that the law-enforcing humans used.
The same humans that her trainer had so much conflicts with. Why were they after this female.
The dogs were running at top speed to chase the vixen and it was obvious that they weren't in the best of moods.
"You have to help me; they will hurt me!" the poor thing said. She was obviously terrified and in need of protection.
In spite of the weight of the situation, Lucy smiled. Here was a chance to use her powers; to demonstrate what she could do and what the potential of her mind was. These dogs were after the poor fox and no matter what had transpired, there were multiple enemies attacking a single one. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, then it was group-bullying.
She did a pirouette and at the second spiral, she stopped and made a gesture with her hands. She threw a reflective barrier up in the streets and allowed a faint smug to play over her features when she saw the fire-dogs smash into it face-first. That should teach them for stalking a poor little Vulpix like that!
The red fox stopped a meter behind her and turned to face the assailants with her.
The canines stopped running and glared at her, malicious intent clearly visible in their eyes.
One of them opened up wide and a torrent of flames escaped its maw. Lucy knew that her reflective barrier wouldn't hold out against the searing rage of fire and she quickly jumped backwards, joining the Vulpix. Then she put her hand against the fire-type's head and teleported both of them away.
The flamethrower burned through the space where the two girls had been a second ago.
Kirlia and the fox reappeared a meter to the right of the attack, but the moment they did a group of humans charged around the corner.
"Hold it!" They yelled. There were five of them -law enforcers, three females and two males. Two of them were sporting the loud banging weapons that the humans loved to carry. She knew from experience just how deadly those weapons could be when fired. She and the fox were in a tight spot and she knew it.
The dogs were growling and barking at them, but they held their fire back.
"Freeze!" The lead human yelled and they had no choice but to comply. The law enforcers had them in a tight spot and they wouldn't get out- maybe she could reason with them, ask them why they were after the little pokemon.
"Get those Pokemon and see who it belongs to! You two, seize the Vulpix!"
Well that couldn't be good.
"Watch the Growlithes!" Someone else yelled and the dogs started yapping even harder. Before she knew it, two of them broke formation after each other and both of them came charging at her and the fox, smoke trailing after them and their exposed teeth blickering in the moonlight.
This was even worse.
Two of the cops yelled at the two fire-types and ran after them, their guns at the ready. Lucy could see the two Growlithes getting closer and closer and there was no way she could reach the red fox before they did –and she had no misconceptions about what would happen if they reached her. So she could teleport away on her own and leave the vixen to die or she could take her chances and attack the law enforcement people. Which would most likely get her killed as well.
What would her trainer do in this situation? If she followed his way of engaging, she would only need two very large weapons and projectiles to spare.
Yes…there would be no soldier-act alike for her.
The two canines came within striking distance and the humans weren't close enough to catch them. She could actually see their hind legs tense in preparation for their pounce- when suddenly their eyes dilated and they stopped their forwards motion. Their forelegs scraped over the ground and they kicked against the ground to get to a stop as fast as they could.
The humans' expressions were much easier to read. Their faces radiated fear and their minds practically oozed with apprehension. What was going on? Was she so scary that her enemies fled before her very sight? For some reason she couldn't exactly believe that…but it was a positive development as a whole, so she held on to the thought.
"Yeah that's right!" She yelled and shook her fist at them. Fear me!
Why were they pointing their guns at a place behind her? Behind and four feet above her?
"Drop your weapons! Do it!" The sudden sound of another voice –this one placed directly behind her- caught her completely off guard and she involuntarily yelped with surprise.
The rough, hard voice sounded familiar to her. There was only one person whose voice could be so devoid of emotions and at the same time charged with authority and lethal precision.
She slowly turned around and saw her trainer standing behind her, his large thunder-stick aimed directly at the law enforcement people.
"Drop your gun sir!" They yelled in return. The two parties were aiming their weapons at each other and the Pokemon were caught in the middle, but she didn't feel any fear. Her trainer was the very best –no one ever was as good as he was.
"I'll count to seven sir! If I reach seven and you have not dropped your gun, I will open fire!" One of the officers yelled.
"I count down from three to zero. I hit zero, you all die."
Damn. He wasn't fooling around. Lucy slowly started making her way towards the Vulpix. If things got out of hand, her human could handle himself. She couldn't and she knew the vixen couldn't either.
"Three."
The Growlithe either sensed the futility of their situation or heard the trainer make his threat; they turned around and ran back towards the law enforcers, with their tails between their legs. The blue-clad humans were so nervous by the situation that one of them fell down by the sudden movement of the Pokemon and two others took a few steps to the side.
The snow-white armoured human didn't budge and inch. "Two."
The other human clearly forgot about his threat and watched with silent horror at the soldier before him.
"Zero." He declared and pressed a button –or was a lever?- at his weapon. The humans instantly threw their weapons on the ground and some of them even dropped themselves down.
"Don't shoot!" They yelled and put their hands in the air. "We can resolve this without violence. Are you the owner of this Vulpix?
"No."
The humans whispered amongst themselves and Lucy could sense their unease and confusion. "Do you own this other…Pokemon?"
"Yes."
"Sir your Pokemon interfered with a direct operation intend on catching a criminal Pokemon. The circumstances aren't in your favor!"
Well…when they brought it like they weren't.
"Her actions are irrelevant. Using weaponry to combat wild animals signifies that you are uncut for police work. Get out. Now."
The law enforcing people didn't need to hear that a second time. They all recollected themselves and retreated, until only one woman was left."
"Interfering with police activities is a serious crime –couple that with threatening said officers with a large firearm and harboring a criminal is enough to get you in jail. Do you understand this?"
'Math!' Lucy contacted the human with her mind. 'You have to protect this pokemon- these people will hurt her when they find her! You can't let them get her!'
"There is no reason for me to do that," He responded. Any other situation would have caused her to laugh her horns off, but right now it didn't matter to her that her trainer looked like he was talking to himself. There was only one way this Vulpix would get away with her life –no matter what so-called crime she committed- and Math was the only one who could do that.
'Math please!' She pleaded, hoping that her calling his name would be enough to carve away all the stone around his heart. 'You can't let them hurt her; you have to stop them!'
"We don't want trouble here sir. Hand over this Pokemon and we'll see if we can't make a deal with you. Resist us and the Cerulean city police department will be all over you –don't think you can beat us."
'Do the right thing! Make up for the people you killed!'
He looked down at her and she suddenly felt very uncomfortable. "I don't have to."
"The police was stalking a young Vulpix without any reason and they were intent on using lethal force. Then they threatened and unleashed Growlithes on a strange and OWNED Pokemon when they couldn't get their jobs done well. Then you proceeded to threaten an elite and undercover soldier when you could be busy defending this city. You better forget about this incident and we will do that too."
A new woman had arrived at the scene –one which Lucy had seen a few times before. It was the female soldier that spoke like her trainer did. Why had she come to chase the police away?
The officer swallowed and her features hardened. "No can do ma'am. You are a very respected and appreciated addition to our team but we can't let you control this situation. This man threatened to kill us and his pokemon assaulted ours without merit. We can't let him walk- we won't let the Vulpix walk.
"It is a wild Pokemon! You can't expect it to realize what it did would cause such grieve!"
"And that is exactly where the problem lies. Our hands are tied –had this Pokemon been caught, its status as a trainer's pokemon would have been enough to lessen the punishment our client chose. But seeing as it isn't… we have no choice."
The female soldier looked at Lucy's trainer and tried to make eye-contact. The armoured human's head shifted ever so slightly to her general direction before his hand suddenly left his weapon. Before the Law enforcement lady could even sneeze, he had pulled out a Poké ball, threw it at the Vulpix and then reunited his hand with his beloved weapon.
The officer realized what had happened and she scowled. "No!" She yelled and took a step forwards, her hand going to her thigh where she wielded a gun. Then the ball shook. Once. Twice. Thrice.
Everyone held their breath –with the highly probably exception of her trainer- and Lucy realized that the Vulpix had been caught by her trainer and what that meant.
It meant that whatever punishment the once-wild creature would have awaited had faded way. It meant that she was safe with him and protected against the blue-clad humans, seeing as she was now officially a trainer's pokemon.
It meant that Math had listened to her pleas and committed an act of mercy.
The female soldier looked down at the ball and then locked her gaze with the other female's. "It looks like your claim officially holds no more weight. The rest of the situation shall be resolved in the morning; go get some sleep officer."
The woman looked angrily at Lucy's trainer and scowled. "You are nothing but trouble. Don't think you have won this round soldier, mark my words." Then she turned towards the other female and sighed. "Yes ma'am, good night ma'am."
While the angry female left and the good female stayed behind to have a little chat with the only male in the vicinity, Lucy felt a twang of jealousy. Had this female just communicated with HER trainer in a way she couldn't? By using military words and codes and undermining the established system?
Doing something she couldn't properly do? Communicate with her own trainer like that?
While she should be the one to know him the best?
"The crashed flood-ship in Voi wasn't the first engagement that one of our Spartans would have with the Flood. There also was an incident in November, when a small scouting group encountered the Delta Halo. Three of our Spartans encountered the flood there in great numbers and were cut off from each other. They managed to get out safe, but…:
Conversation between Colonel Ackerson and General Lance, 28 December 2552